Introduction
Welcome to Chinada, where what happens in Canada reflects the communist regime in China. Last week, I wrote about controlling the narrative and our need to discern what is genuinely taking place. In that article, I mentioned that controlling the narrative is critical to controlling a nation. There are three ways they do this in China – propaganda, censorship, and centralization of content. All three are becoming more prevalent in our country. As the truckers stand up against the tyranny of the federal government mandates, keep your eyes on parliament. Not simply to see how things are being shaken up, but more specifically, what bills are being reintroduced. Bill C-10, now called Bill C-11, has been revived – and Bill C-36 (which will soon go by a different name) is right on its heels. What is the potential harm present in these bills, and how should we think of them as the church? Let’s look at each one individually. Bill C-11 Bill C-10, a hotly debated bill when it was first introduced, was revived on February 2 as Bill C-11 (now called the Online Streaming Act). This bill is an amendment to the 1991 Broadcasting Act, which seeks to regulate, support and promote Canadian content (ie. content made in and by Canadians which promotes Canadian culture) on social media platforms. This bill has in view commercialized social media platforms (e.g. YouTube, Netflix, Tik Tok, etc.); however, there is ambiguity in the law which potentially makes the scope broader than that. It requires these platforms, which are to be licensed, to contribute to the creation and availability of Canadian stories and music and contribute finically to support Canadian artists. Those platforms that don’t abide by these requirements will be finically penalized. This bill doesn’t seek to remove non-Canadian content; however, a higher priority is given to Canadian content over others, consequently burying non-Canadian content. This is problematic to freedom of expression since it suppresses content that is not deemed Canadian. Which begs the question – what will be the determining factor of what is considered Canadian content? In the bill the content must “serve the needs and interests of all Canadians.” Who gets to make that judgement call? The Canadian Radio-Television Commission will be given the authority to regulate online platforms. Therefore, the details are largely up to them - of course with policy direction from the government. The same government which deems the Bible as a myth, Christianity as the worst part of Canada, and the Freedom Convoy’s stand for freedom as unacceptable. For me, this bill reflects a communist ideology and tactic – the control of the media in the name of promoting nationalism in order to hinder and suppress dissenters (such as the church). With this bill we are put onto a road that leads to China. China regulates the internet and media in order to keep their Chinese nationality intact. An identity that is shaped by the communist party and guarded by prohibiting western ideologies that don’t adhere to their vision of China. Bill C-36 Whereas Bill C-10 regulates Canadian content, Bill C-36 seeks to monitor, regulate, and remove hate speech (especially targeting race, religion, and sexual identity) from online platforms. It is an amendment to the Criminal Code, making the activity and the thought punishable by jail time. The bill proposes creating a peace bond to help prevent hate propaganda offences and hate crimes from happening. To prevent something is to stop something before it happens. Therefore, this bill also covers thought crimes. On top of this, the accuser can make a complaint and remain anonymous if they feel threatened. Those found guilty will be required to be under surveillance for up to 12 months. How does this not sound like China? The regulation, suppression and prohibition of speech is literally the textbook definition of censorship – a tactic used by communist countries to suppress freedom of speech and expression. Because God has written His law on our hearts (Rom. 2:15), we should all agree that hatred is wrong. The crux of the matter though is twofold.
We can’t lose sight of when this bill is attempting to be reintroduced. The governing authorities are using the Freedom Convoy protest as justification as to why this bill is needed. Think about that for a moment. They are using a protest (which is covered by our charter rights of freedom of expression and assembly), which they have deemed unacceptable, as a cover to pass a bill that suppresses freedom of expression. That should make your head spin! This bill poses a great threat to our freedom of expression, not simply as a nation but especially for the church. A liberal interpretation of hatred will penalize the church’s message, which is already deemed unacceptable, hateful and bigoted. A LARGER TREND These two bills are simply part of a larger trend of the suppression of freedom of expression. Just consider the following things:
Yes, compared to other countries such as China, we still have mainly open access to social media with very few restrictions. Yet this is rapidly changing. Why? Some may see it as the government protecting us from ourselves. There is a risk when it comes to unhindered freedom of expressions – such as vulgarity, immorality, and hatred. That’s because our heart is deceitfully wicked, and from our heart stems our words. However, if you search the scriptures, you will not find the government as the one given the role to suppress speech. Each individual is responsible for practicing self-governance over their own words. The government is not the thought police, and censorship is not the solution (read my article on that here). There is something bigger happening here. The government is suppressing our freedom of expression to control the narrative. If you control the narrative, you shape a person’s worldview causing them to see the world as you want them to. This is how a government hinders dissenters and controls a nation. Strategically it is smart – morally, it is evil. On paper, we have a charter right for freedom of expression. Yet, functionally this right only exists for those who hold acceptable views (ie. views that align with the mainstream narrative). Those who do not follow the narrative are suppressed and censored. When you step back and observe what is taking place, its not that hard to know that the liberal government is leading us more and more into a socialist society – one which reflects communist China. Not really a surprise when you consider that Trudeau looks up to the leader of China.
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AuthorHello! I'm glad you found my blog. My name is David Hanson, and I am a concerned Christian who desires for the church of North America to become aware and begin to think biblically of what is happening around them in society. It's time for the church to awake and speak into the current events of the day. We alone have the truth to navigate life effectively. That truth is the Word of God. Archives
May 2022
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